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Emerald Spire 43.0 - Just Keep Swimming
Steeling themselves, the group began to swim forwards through the darkness; Amara held out a light while Marin swam in front, his deep-set fear of drowning pushing him to increase his speed. He followed the tell-tale reflections of green light glinting from the vein of conjurer's crystal that was embedded in the wall, hoping that it would lead to the root of the spire. Marin didn't notice a subtle shift in the environment before it was too late; Amara and Kormon missed it as well. Suddenly, the three of them found themselves in a massive, black expanse of water: the walls of the tunnel were gone. Marin panicked immediately, swimming as hard as he could in the direction he assumed was up. Amara and Kormon followed after, afraid of losing him in the void. Minutes passed but there was no change in their environment: only empty, dark sea surrounded them. Giving up his fever pitch Marin slowed to a stop, drifting in the gentle current as the other two caught up. Miming to the best of their ability, the three agreed that they must have passed through a portal to the watery dimension that Jaquarl, Dayana and Vibol hailed from. Unfortunately, they had no way of getting back unless they could find the exact spot that they had come through. Now that they weren't rushing they could feel the aura of the place pressing on them: a gentle, calm drowsiness that jarred dramatically with what their natural response to being lost in a black ocean should be. Turning around, they swam down and began the task of searching for the unmarked portal. As it began to seem like the unnatural calmness would drag them into unconsciousness before they could escape, a strange creature approached them. It was a rotund, fish-like creature that had the appearance of being covered in seaweed. Though it could not speak their language, it seemed curious and pleasant enough. After some concerted miming on Kormon's part, the extraplanar seemed to gather what had happened; it seemed sorry for the three mortals, 'hugged' Kormon in a fashion, and picked him up with its short fins before taking him to a particular spot, patting him on the head, and gently pushing him away. Kormon found himself suddenly back in the tunnels faced with a visibly frantic Ismail. The angel repeated this motion with Amara and would have again with Marin, though when the monk saw Kormon vanish he wasted no time in barreling towards that spot. When he found himself in the tunnel, he bolted back the way they had come towards the spire shaft. Breaching the surface as fast as he could, Marin tried to steady himself against the wall as he caught his breath and calmed his nerves. Kormon, Amara and Ismail were not far behind. According to the undead, he had gotten a horrible feeling and stopped short just in time to watch the others disappear; he had waited for them for some time, unsure of what to do. Worried about the portals but certain that they couldn't turn back now, the group prepared to submerge themselves again: they didn't know how long they had until the time-limit Sasien had set would run out. Taking a different path, they changed their swimming order so that Ismail could go first: as a negatively-charged undead, he was sensitive to the positive energies of Heaven that would destroy him. As such, he could clearly sense when they approached a portal and could stop them short before they blundered into the endless ocean again. This plan worked out well for them as they made their way carefully through the sunken natural caves and fissures in the rock. Something caught their attention as they were about to travel around a corner: a glowing creature moved in the cavern beyond. Stifling their light, Kormon made to go investigate: what he saw was a group of large nautilus-like creatures whose shells glowed a pleasant array of colour. They drifted about lazily in the room, seeming unperturbed. With great care, the group inched their way along the cavern floor and managed to keep far enough away that the glowing creatures did not notice them. Continuing onward, they eventually caught sight of the familiar green glow of the conjurer's crystal winding in a thin vein among the rocks. Following it closely, they were forced to come to a swift stop when another aquatic monstrosity barred their path: a giant jellyfish that crackled with electricity, its singular eye-like core sitting suspended in its translucent cap. Kormon and Ismail tried to hit it with their weapons, whereupon Kormon learned that his sword was conductive. Amara threw out a Wall of Force, trapping the jellyfish within a clear, solid bubble it couldn't escape. The group swam as fast as they could past it, hoping to make enough distance between now and when it would become free that it couldn't follow them. Not long after they lost the creature, they were stopped by sounds up ahead. Covering their light once more, the group approached with caution to assess the situation. Beyond them was a giant, open cave dominated by the wide, branching, rooted base of the Emerald Spire. Twelve fish-like warriors armed with weapons were arranged loosely around a distressing scene: Dayana stood by looking sad and reproachful as Vibol lie bound on the ground; Teuthida seemed to be asking questions of the also-bound Jaquarl and becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of response, punctuating his words with lashes from a crop that glowed with dark energy. The group frowned: this would be a dangerous undertaking. Category:Emerald Spire